N is for Nutrition

Our little family brainstorming session for the alphabet actually came up with two suggestions for this letter – Natural and Nutrition. I think they are interrelated.
One of the things I have learned over the past few years is just how much better I feel within myself when I am eating well.
However, I am no saint and I crave sugar along with the best of them. However, as I no longer have a gall bladder to process my fats, I can no longer eat too many fatty foods. 😦I have tried many diets over the years. I have counted points, calories, kilojoules, fat content and you name it, I have done it. I am a big person. I have become comfortable with that. Even when I was a personal trainer, I was a size 16.
As I’ve mentioned previously, I now weigh what I used to leg press 😳
But this post is not about weight loss. It is about eating for your health.
I try to do this as often as possible. My weight fluctuates but tends to stay around the same.
If you eat well and lose weight then that is an added bonus.
I guess my interest in the correlation between what we put in our mouths and how we feel came about when I was looking for ways that I could ‘fix’ my depression and menopause (sorry April, I had to say that ‘M’ word).
I learned that although I couldn’t fix things, I could certainly improve the way that I felt and ease some of the symptoms.

I tried cutting sugar completely from my diet at one stage. I lasted 6 weeks and felt great within myself however like many addicts, I fell off the wagon. It is so difficult when sugar is prevalent in so many foods (and it is often hidden extremely well). My downfall is biscuits (or cookies for those of you in other parts of the world). I love them. Then I learned that a little on occasion isn’t really that big of a deal.
I began to make small changes in the things I eat. For example, I now eat dark chocolate (limit to two squares) rather than milk chocolate, almond or quinoa milk rather than cow’s milk and herbal and green teas rather than black tea all the time.
The more I read about the food industry (permeates in milk and chemical additives in foods) the more I believe that the less of that stuff I put into myself, the healthier I’ve got to feel right?
My family think I am nuts and I have to admit that it is downright difficult to eat completely healthy in the way that I want because of this. That and time. When I get home from work, I don’t have the time (or energy) to put together a wonderful homecooked meal. I take shortcuts (such as allowing the GG to cook the meals) 😉
I love farmer’s markets because you know that the food you are buying is fresh (and hasn’t been stored in freezers for months). I also like the fact that the farmer is getting 100% of the profit. Unfortunately farmer’s markets are few and far between in my neck of the woods so the supermarket has to do.

We used to have a veggie garden however we found we weren’t eating the produce enough so it fell into disuse. I have asked the GG if we can try again and plant things that I know I eat a lot of. He rolled his eyes lol
For those that can grow their own produce, I salute you. Well done! 🙂

Now where was I going with this?
That’s right, eating well.
Would you believe that only this morning before I gravitated toward WordPress, I was reading an email from Wayne Dyer in which he spoke about how changing his diet has really helped him. I was very interested in what he had to say about the effect of wheat (and preservatives)  on our bodies. I must admit that in recent weeks I have  noticed that on the days I eat bread, I am not as well in myself as I could be. So that is something else I am going to try to cut back on. (Note I didn’t say eliminate. Baby steps all the way).
I really am becoming converted to a more nutritious, whole and clean way of eating. I figure I owe it to myself.

In closing, I want to share one of my favourites breakfasts with you. When I have time to cook I like to make this.
It is simply vegetables and eggs.
I chop my vegetables – zucchini, kale, baby spinach, mushrooms, tomato, brussell sprouts, onion (or whatever else takes your fancy). I also measure out half a cup of cooked brown rice to go with them.
Then I put the harder vegetables in the microwave (with a little water) for a few minutes whilst I melt a little butter in a fry pan. Once the vegetables are done in the microwave, I throw all the vegetables and the rice into the pan with the butter and season with salt and pepper. (Sometimes I add a little garlic). While they are sauteeing away, whisk two eggs and a little almond milk in a bowl. Pour the egg over the vegetables and stir through until cooked. Serve with some more cracked pepper over the top. It takes a little tweaking to work out how much garlic you need to add if you make this first thing in the morning. I have worked out that a quarter of a teaspoon of crushed garlic (or quarter of a clove finely chopped should be sufficient). But then if you don’t mind garlic breath – it ain’t no problem how much you put in!! 😀

Just typing this has made me hungry but I think I’ll use my browning bananas and make a smoothie instead. I haven’t become brave enough to graduate to ‘green’ smoothies just yet though 😉
Baby steps all the way.